


Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop

by ItsNotEasyBeingQueen



Category: Glee
Genre: Canon!Klaine, M/M, coffee shop fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-12-17 14:04:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11853123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsNotEasyBeingQueen/pseuds/ItsNotEasyBeingQueen
Summary: A few Lima Bean moments in the Klaine timeline.





	Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written for the Klaine Valentines Challenge 2017 prompt, “Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop,” by Landon Pigg. All of my one-shots for that challenge (including this one) were posted on ff as chapters of a single fic titled "Happy Valenklaine's Day 2017" (original, right?). Since the trope of the month on the KlaineIndex Tumblr page is coffee shop fics, I thought I'd put this one out there. Enjoy it with a cup of coffee and a cookie.

May, 2011

“I’ll have a medium drip, a grande nonfat mocha, and one of those smiley-face cookies, please,” Blaine said brightly to the barista at the Lima Bean.  He was a little early, but the guys at Dalton had practically shoved him out the door after complaining that they couldn’t stand his giddiness anymore.  Kurt came home from nationals in New York with the New Directions last night.  Blaine had wanted to pick him up at the airport, but Burt had claimed that honor, so Blaine had been forced to wait another day for their reunion.

He took the extra time to go ahead and place their orders, knowing exactly what Kurt would want.  He smiled to himself as he remembered how surprised Kurt had been a few months ago when Blaine had rattled off Kurt’s coffee order.  They hadn’t been “together” then – well, not officially, thanks to Blaine’s obliviousness – but on some level, his heart had already been claimed by the boy with eyes like the ocean.

_I think that possibly, maybe I’m falling for you_

Just as the order came up, Blaine heard the familiar bell tinkle over the door.  He looked up and was met with the sight he’d been waiting for.  Kurt looked radiant in an ivory coat over a dress shirt and checkered tie, with light green pants and silver high-tops.  Kurt’s face lit up with happiness when he met Blaine’s eyes, and he crossed the shop quickly to hug him hello.  Without any discussion, they each knew not to take their greeting any further than that, at least not here.  Kisses could come later when they were alone.

Soon, they were seated at a cozy table for two.  Blaine listened with rapt attention as Kurt detailed the drama that had unfolded at yet another wild New Directions competition.  The whole thing had been a mess, apparently, but Blaine noticed that Kurt’s mood wasn’t what he expected.  When he asked Kurt about it, he marveled at how Kurt rattled off all of the positive things that had happened on the trip.

That was so like Kurt, Blaine thought.  It seemed he was forever being challenged in one way or another, and while he got frustrated just like anyone would, he always found the good in the situation.  He always managed to find the tiniest kernel of happiness and focus on that.  Blaine sat with his chin propped up by his hand and took in the sight of his stunning, happy, life-affirming boyfriend before him.

“I love you,” he said.  It wasn’t a dramatic declaration or passionate moment.  It was just a simple statement of fact.  And more than that, it didn’t phase Blaine in the least to say it.  His face remained calm and gentle as he smiled softly at his boyfriend.  There was no panic in his eyes, no hint of fear that he’d said it too soon or that he didn’t really mean it. 

Kurt took a moment to swallow the mouthful of coffee he’d just taken in before hearing his boyfriend say “I love you” for the first time. 

_Yes there’s a chance that I’ve fallen quite hard over you_

“I love you, too,” Kurt answered, surprising himself at how easy it was to say.

November, 2012

_I never knew just what it was  
About this old coffee shop I love so much_

He thought for the tenth time that he shouldn’t be here, but he walked through the door to the Lima Bean anyway.

His life was in shambles at the moment.  He’d hurt the one person in the world he never, ever wanted to hurt, and now Kurt wasn’t even speaking to him.  Their relationship was over, and Blaine would never forgive himself. 

There were lots of coffee shops in Lima.  Hell, there was a Starbucks on every other corner.  For some reason, however, he felt the need to keep coming back here.  It should hurt too much, he knew, but in a weird way, it was comforting.  He and Kurt had spent a lot of time here, getting to know one another first as friends, then as boyfriends.  They’d first said “I love you” here.  So it was strange that he should want to be in this place.  He should just get his coffee somewhere else.  But this little coffee shop held a special place in Blaine’s heart, and it had nothing to do with the coffee. 

_All of the while I never knew_

February, 2015

Kurt was back in Lima.  Things were a bit of a mess.  Since Sue Sylvester had locked them in that fake elevator and forced them to kiss, Blaine found himself endlessly thinking about Kurt.  That was horrible because he was with Dave (something he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around sometimes) and he understood that Kurt was seeing some guy named Walter who appeared to be older than Burt (something else he couldn’t quite wrap his head around).  But through all of the past months of hurt and confusion and forgiveness and trying to move on, one thing had become clear to Blaine.  Nothing was right unless he was near Kurt.

_No one understands me quite like you do  
Through all of the shadowy corners of me_

They’d met up at the Lima Bean the morning of Rachel’s party to talk about song choices.  That had taken all of five minutes, and they’d spent the rest of the next two hours just talking.  Blaine had missed this so badly.

It was no wonder later that evening, on the walk outside of the soon-to-be-former-Berry home, that Blaine found himself caught up once more.  They were just talking about their performance, which led to talking about their first duet, and on to the infamous serenade of what’s-his-name.  Then, suddenly, Blaine stepped forward, leaned up, and kissed him.  He’d taken Kurt by surprise, and as soon as he pulled away, guilt had washed over him.  He couldn’t bring himself to have another horrible conversation about how they couldn’t be together, so he’d just walked away.

It wouldn’t hit Blaine until later that when he’d kissed Kurt, Kurt hadn’t pushed him away.  At all.

May, 2019

“I’ll have a medium drip, a grande nonfat mocha, and one of those flower-shaped cookies,” Blaine asked the barista cheerfully.  He paid for the order, giving a generous tip.  As he moved to the end of the counter and waited for his order, he looked around. 

Not much had changed at the Lima Bean in the past eight years.  The décor was the same, if not the crew of college kids working behind the counter.  He spotted a table of teenagers who he recognized from the video of last week’s Nationals completion that Sam had sent him.  They’d won this year, and Sam couldn’t have been more proud.

One table over, there was a group of clean-cut boys in navy blazers that bore a familiar crest.  The new Dalton Academy would be graduating its first class in a few days.  Blaine had been asked to speak, both as a successful alum and as the man who had spearheaded the fundraising campaign to rebuild. 

He was drawn from his reverie by the simultaneous calling of his name by both the barista and a voice which was near and dear to his heart.  He turned his head toward the door and broke out into a beaming smile.  His beautiful husband came through the door, looking just as breathtaking as he had all those years ago.  Kurt made his way across the shop to Blaine, embracing him warmly and pulling back for a chaste but loving kiss.  Times were changing – slowly – and maybe Lima, Ohio wasn’t the paragon of acceptance, but they didn’t particularly care anymore.  They were older, and wiser, and more comfortable, both with themselves and with each other. 

“Hi, sweetie,” Kurt greeted him, reaching over for his drink from the counter and snatching the cookie while he was at it. 

“Hey,” Blaine answered, kissing Kurt quickly on the cheek to distract him from the fact that he was taking half of the cookie back.

They made their way over to “their” table and settled down to catch up on their respective days.  They could have gone anywhere, or they could have just gone home to use the fancy espresso machine that they’d given to Burt and Carole for their anniversary last year.  But without any discussion or question, they had agreed to meet here, at the little coffee shop where so much of their story had taken place. 

_I never knew just what it was_   
_About this old coffee shop I loved so much_   
_All of the while, I never knew_   
_All of the while, it was you._

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, how I love that song.


End file.
